Telegraphic pen



(No Model.)

H. P. COPELAND. TELBGRAPHIG PEN.

No. 379,868.` Patented Mar. '13, 1888.

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ATTORNEY,

N. PETERS. mmmmhqgmphcr. washing oA c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERSOHEL P. OOPELAND, OF EAST` ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

TELEGRAPHIC PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379.368, dated March13. 1838- Application filed December 29, 1887. Serial No. 259,284. (Nomodel.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. HERscnEL l?. Corn- LAND,.a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TelegraphicPens, of which the following is a specication.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby lbeginners intelegraphy may be relieved ofthe necessity of depending solely uponsound in transmitting telegraphic messages, and may be guided to someextent by the eye. f

In practice my invention can also be used advantageously by skilledoperators for preserving a record of messages in the transmiting-oflicefor future reference. Such a record might serve to settle disputesbetween senders and receivers in a conclusive manner.

By't-he use of the apparatus which I have invented an unskilledoperator,in the act of sending a message to a distant station, writesout, in the Morse or any other code, the message which he sends. Themessage is received at the distant station upon suitable instrumentsdesigned for that purpose.

The pen employed may be a fountain-pen or an ordinary pen having ahandle or holderprovided with suitable means for making electricalconnections, as will be ydescribed hereinafter. Any kind of ink may beemployed, and the writing may be done upon paper or any other goodreceiving-surface. If preferred, a stylus or pencil may be substitutedfor the pen.

The receiving apparatus at the distant station may be a sounder or arecording apparatus of any of the well-known types. The character of thereceiver has nothing to do with my present invention.

Both the sending and the receiving stations are provided with similarapparatus, including one of my pens and also a suitable receiver.

In the drawings which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my telegraphic pen. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof.Eig. 3 shows a detail. Fig. 4 shows the circuit, and Fig. 5 is asectional View of a pencil with the electrical devices attached.

In the drawings, a represents the casing or holder of a fountain orother pen, the casing being made of hard rubber, as is usual in suchpens. The pen h is in this instance an ordinary Writing-pen.

b and c arer electric-circuit wires, which are connected at one end ofthe holder with conducting plates or rings d and e, respectively, and atthe other end with push-button o and contact -piece p, respectively. Anyof the well-known means may be provided for rclieving the wires fromstrain, and, if desired, they may be attached at different points alongthe rubber casing. This is shown in Fig. 5.

The pen is provided with the usual cap, in, which has rings d e', ofconducting material, corresponding with the plates d and e, alreadymentioned. l/Vhen the capis in place, the corresponding plates makecontact with each other in an obvious manner. The rings d and e' arerespectively connected with electriccircuit wires which form part of aninsulatingcord, f, and which are also a part of the same circuit inwhich the wires b and c are included.

It is evident that when the cap is on, at'A, there will be a circuit forthe batteries W and Y in Fig. 4, which will be open only between o andp.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the construction of the cap m and the end of thepen over which it iits in det-ail. I have arranged a spring, t', securedat one end to the ring d in the cap, projecting into the chamber of thecap and up into a slot, where it terminates directly over a portion ofthe other ring, e', which is4 the terminal of the other pole of thebattery. Now when the cap is in place the spring is held out of contactwith ring e', but when the cap is removed the circuit automaticallycloses, so that when the pen is disconnected and used for other purposesthe circuit is closed to receive a signal or call.

Now, supposing an operator wants to send a message, he takes the pen c,sees that the cap m is in place, and holds the pen in a position forWriting, placing his foretinger on the button o. He then writesin theMorse characters whatever message he desires to send, and

in doing so every time the pen makes a mark upon the paper or otherreceiving-surface he presses the button o into contact with p. Thiscauses a closure of the electric circuit and a corresponding action uponthe sounder or ICO other' receiving apparatus at the distant station.The duration of the closure Will of course be greater when adash isWritten than when the pen simply makes a dot. In this Way the propersignal will be received or the proper record made at thereceiving-station, while at the sending-station a record will also bekept, which will be valuable to any operator, whether skilled orunskilled, and a beginner will have thc advantage of being guided by hiseye in the sending of the message.

The ring or ci rcuit-closer a is designed to be placed over the endimmediately over the button 0 in such a manner as to press the latteragainsttheeorrespondingcontact. This keeps the circuit closed, so that acall can be received from a distant station, while at the same time thepen may be used as an ordinary pen to record the message received shouldthere not be a recording-instrument at the receiving-sta tion.

Vhile I have illustrated the connections as being made with the linethrough the cap m and the parts connected therewith, yet it will beunderstood that I can make these connections in any other convenientway, if l choose. The special feature of my pen is the constructionwhereby the pair ot' terminals o p is conveniently located l'or beingoperated when the pen is used in ordinary writing. However, I do notwish to confine myself' to the specific location illustrated, although Iprefer that arrangement oi' the parts.

It is obvious that the cap m, carrying the line, may be detached and thepen then used as an ordinary writing-pen either portable or for thedesk, in which case the circuit would be Iclosed to receive a signal bythe spring in the cap, as before described.

Having described my inventiomwhat I claim 1s- 1. In an electric circuit,which includes a suitable receiving apparatus, a transmittingpenprovided with eircuiteterminals, one of which is movable and locatedupon the pen, so as to be moved in the act of Writing,

2. A telegraphic pen having terminals for connection with a circuit, andalso having a pair of terminals, one ot-whieh is movable and located soas to be moved with relation to the corresponding terminal when the penis used.

3. A telegraphic pen having two pairs of terminals, the members of eachpair being connected with correslaouding members ol" the other pair, andone ofthe members of one pair being movable, as and for the purpose setforth.

4. A telegraphic pen having two pairs of terminals, the members ot' onepair being relatively fixed and those of the other being relativelymovable7 in combination with a cap for the said pen, having terminalswhich correspond to those which form the pair whose members arerelatively lixed, the capterminals being joined to the wires ot' anelectric circuit, as set 'orth.

5. A telegraphic pen having a pair of relatively-movable terminals, oneof the said terminals being located in position to be opcrated by theindex-finger in writing.

6. A telegraphic pen having a pair of relatively-movable terminals, oneot the said terminals being located in position to be operated by theindex-finger in writing, in combination with a cap, band, orcircuit-closer adapted to press the movable terminal into contact withthe corresponding terminal.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name iu the presence oftwosubscribing witnesses.

HERSCHEL I. COPELAND.

\VitncSses:

WM. A. RosnNBaUM, AUGUSTUS Mnnnrr'r.

